Peeta's Mishap
by lovedove1345
Summary: We all know Peeta's mother is a witch...see what happens when Peeta gets on her bad side one day. Warning: Contains spanking.
1. Chapter 1

Sixteen year old Peeta Mellark was daydreaming again. He had just caught a glimpse of Katniss Everdeen passing by his window while he sat at the kitchen table doing homework. The sun glinted off her dark, shiny braid as she walked with a fierce determination that seemed to be recognizable only with her step. He put his books away and moved slowly upstairs to get changed into work clothes. He went into the kitchen, mind still racing with thoughts of this simple, yet alluring girl from the Seam. His father had once told him that he had been in love with her mother…he could see why. The Everdeen women had something special in them, like a song kept just below the surface always waiting to be sung.

"Peeta!" His mother shouted from the other room. She was having another headache today, which Peeta knew from experience meant stay out of the way. He timidly looked around the doorframe to see what she wanted.

"How many times, Peeta? How many? I have told you THREE times since you've been home to take this garbage out!"

"I'm sorry, Mom." Peeta scurried to get the garbage while trying his utmost to avoid his mother's heavy hand. As he was picking up the garbage she cuffed him on the back of his head. "Your behavior lately has been unacceptable. You've been slow, lazy, and unproductive. It needs to stop now. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry." Peeta ran out the door before she could do anything else. He took his time with the trash and slowly reentered the bakery to find his brother Mason at the table.

"Peeta, man, you better watch it today. I think Mom's getting really tired of you and fast." Mason was Peeta's 23 year old brother. He was tall, blonde, and handsome and was always quick to give his brother's grief on a daily basis. Hearing him sound serious made Peeta extra nervous about his mother. Mason was quick to torture his brothers himself, but he didn't enjoy when they were punished by his mother.

Peeta nodded curtly and ran through the door into the kitchen…running straight into his mother who was carrying a huge mixing bowl of flour.

"PEETA" She shrieked. "Stupid, foolish, insolent boy!"

Peeta was on the ground, covered in flour. "Get up, NOW!" She yelled. Mason whistled low, shook his head, and left the bakery giving Peeta a sympathetic look. Mrs. Mellark grabbed Peeta by the ear and hauled him to his feet. "Get the strap and go upstairs. Now." Her words were soft, which made them all the more dangerous.

Peeta's eyes widened in fear. "No, Mom, please…" Tears started to form in his eyes.

"Peeta. Don't make me tell you again."

Peeta groaned softly and went to the cupboard. Hanging from a solitary nail was a leather strap. Peeta took it off the wall with shaking hands and dragged his feet up the stairs to his small bedroom. He sat on the bed and covered his face with his hands. He heard a soft knock at his door that made him jump about a foot. But it wasn't his mother…it was his father.

Mr. Mellark came in the room with a sad expression in his eyes. "Son…" he started. His eyes caught the strap and took in the pitiful sight of his youngest boy quaking with fear on his bed. He crossed the room in two strides and held Peeta in his arms. He rubbed calming circles in his back and kissed the top of his head.

"Dad, please…" said Peeta.

"I know, son. But I can't. You should have been more careful. And you have been neglecting your chores lately."

"Dad…" moaned Peeta.

"I know it'll hurt, son, but you have had it coming. I'll come back to talk to you later, ok? I love you."

He closed the door quietly and was gone. He went to busy himself with baking. He couldn't stand the sound of one of his sons being punished.

Mrs. Mellark soon took his place in Peeta's bedroom. "I don't know what I did to deserve such an excuse for a son. " Peeta looked down at his feet. "Alright, Peeta, you know the drill. Bend over the bed."

Peeta shakily got to his feet and moved to the end of the bed. With a sigh, he stretched out over it, feeling very vulnerable and unprotected.

Mrs. Mellark grabbed the strap and folded it in half. She positioned herself at the bottom of the bed and took in the sight of Peeta with his head buried in his arms, already squirming slightly in anticipation of what was to come. She let him, hoping the anticipation would cause him the utmost discomfort. Then she swung the strap until it made contact, hard, with Peeta's backside. He arched his back slightly and made a muffled cry. She continued to rain down lick after lick while Peeta's cries got louder.

"Take your pants down."

Crying, Peeta unbuttoned his pants and slid them down to his ankles. He hissed when they made contact with his bruised skin. It took everything he had to make himself lie back down on the bed. The next strap made him cry out extremely loudly and he writhed about in agony. "Stay still" his mother commanded coldly. She gave him fifteen more licks with the belt. Peeta was sobbing on his bed. Mrs. Mellark went to leave the room.

"Mom…I'm sorr-"

"Be downstairs in five minutes, Peeta."

"Y-yes, ma'am…."

Mrs. Mellark left. Peeta curled into a ball on his side and cried. He didn't hear when his father came into the room and sat beside him on the bed. Mr. Mellark gently rubbed his back and gathered him up into his arms.

"D-d-dad…." Sobbed Peeta.

"I know, son, I know."

"I HATE her!"

Mr. Mellark grabbed his son's shoulders and forced him to look into his eyes. Peeta had tears streaming down his face.

"No, Peeta. You do not hate your mother. And I will never tolerate you speaking that way in this house or I will whip you myself. Do you understand me?"

Mr. Mellark rarely took this tone with his son and Peeta was taken by surprise.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now put your pants on and come downstairs."

"Ok."

Mr. Mellark turned to leave the room. He looked back at Peeta gingerly pulling pants over his backside. "Son?"

"Yeah, Dad?"

"I love you."

"I love you, too."


	2. Chapter 2

That night Peeta lay wide-awake in the room he shared with his two brothers. He was definitely sleeping on his stomach tonight. His mind was racing with the events of the day. They kept going back to Katniss.

"Peeta?" Charlie, Peeta's 18-year-old brother, asked out of the darkness.

"Yeah?"

"You ok?"

Peeta rolled onto his side so he could look at Charlie. His face was full of sympathy and concern for his little brother. Peeta always held a special place in his brothers' hearts because of his warm personality and loving character. They couldn't stand it when their mother treated him unjustly.

Peeta sighed. His backside hurt like hell, as did his pride. After his punishment, his mother treated him extremely poorly the rest of the day. Mason and Charlie knew not to say anything. They were just as scared of her as Peeta was, even if they were less likely to be in trouble because of their age.

"I guess," Peeta mumbled. He turned the other way and faced the wall.

He heard the covers rustle and the mattress squeak as Charlie got out of bed and walked over to him. He sat down lightly at the foot of the bed. Peeta didn't look up. Charlie lightly put his hand on Peeta's back. At his touch, Peeta slowly sat up, wincing as his weight shifted to the welts on his skin.

"She got you good, huh?"

"Always does."

Charlie chuckled and tousled Peeta's ashy blonde hair. "I'm sorry, man. You didn't deserve it."

Peeta nodded and looked at his brother. "Why is she like that?"

"I don't know, little brother. I think life just hits her harder than it does the rest of us sometimes."

"Yeah, and then she hits us harder than life itself, apparently."

Charlie laughed. "You got that right. You know…you do a pretty good job at staying on her good side, all things considered. Hell, the last time I remember her giving you a beating like that was when you gave the bread to that girl from the Seam….what's-her-name…Kadniss?"

"Katniss" Peeta corrected automatically.

"Right, yeah, whatever. You know, I could have sworn you burnt it on purpose."

"Why would I do that?"

"How bout you tell me?"

Peeta sighed. "I don't know…I guess…I couldn't stand to see her die. Not her. If one beating meant saving her life…I don't know….wouldn't you?"

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "So I'm supposed to buy that an eleven year old took getting strapped simply to be a good Samaritan? You like her, don't you?"

"Shut up."

"No, man, I'm serious. I can see it. I've caught you looking at her way more times than I can count. You are in love with that girl."

Peeta remained silent and stared straight ahead.

Charlie broke the silence. "You know I love you, Peet. I really do. You're one of the best people I know in this place and I don't want the outside world to harm you. Ever. You're too good. But if you chase after a Seam girl, you know that Mom would kick you out. I think it hurts her more than you know, since…well…since you're doing what Dad wanted to do when they were younger. You can't marry beneath you."

Peeta just stared at the wall.

"I'm sorry, Peeta. I am. I just worry about you sometimes."

"I know."

"I love you."

"Yeah."

"Will you two ladies quit jabbering? I'm seriously trying to sleep here." Mason mumbled from somewhere in a huge pile of blankets.

"MOVE OUT." Peeta and Charlie yelled at the same time.

"Now why would I do that? I have free food and a loving family here to provide for me." Mason said sarcastically.

Charlie chuckled and shook his head. He hugged Peeta and crept back into his own bed.

"Night."

Peeta rolled back onto his stomach and closed his eyes, trying to find the reason behind Charlie's warnings. Of course, love ultimately dominated logic and he fell asleep to dreams of Katniss Everdeen.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Peeta woke up early and changed quickly. He crept downstairs and started to bake the bread for the day. As he was kneading the dough, his mom came in behind him. She came up beside him, and so quickly that he wasn't sure if he had just imagined it, kissed him on the cheek. Then she turned and left the room.

Peeta was utterly bewildered. His mother very rarely showed any kind of affection towards him (or anyone for that matter) and he had not idea what brought this on. He smiled a little and started forming the dough in loaves.

Mr. Mellark came in through the door and went to help Peeta. The two stayed in silence for awhile, just rolling and placing the dough on sheets.

"How are you, son?"

"Fine."

Peeta looked up at his father. "Dad, did Mom say anything to you this morning?"

"No, why?"

"Oh, nothing."

The baker looked sideways at his son. "You didn't make her angry again, did you?"

"No, no, it's nothing like that. She's just….being…nice."

Mr. Mellark chuckled and his eyes sparkled. "You know she's not a total witch, don't you?"

"You could fool me."

The baker gave a sharp slap to his son's backside, but seeing as he was laughing while he did so, it didn't have that much effect. Peeta laughed quietly, totally unrepentant, and put the rolls in the oven.

"I gotta go to school. Love you, Dad."

"I love you too, son."

Peeta grabbed his books and ran out the door to walk with his friend Levi.

Levi was the son of the local shoemaker. He was a kind boy, always making people laugh, and Peeta was his friend because he found him a kindred spirit whose warmth touched those around him.

"Why didn't you come over last night? I thought we were gonna study for the coal test together?"

"Oh, yeah…sorry. I couldn't. Mom was kinda…upset with me." Peeta replied sheepishly.

"Ouch. Sorry, man. That sucks." Levi knew all about the baker's wife and how the Mellark boys were treated. But being the kind of boy he was, he didn't press for details.

The two walked to school together and then walked to their first class. Peeta caught a glimpse of Katniss as he was going to his class. God, she's beautiful. Maybe I should talk…no. No, definitely not.

"Joining us today, Mr. Mellark?" Mr. Taygler asked.

Peeta hurried to his seat and quickly sat down. Mistake. He hissed and jumped back up as his butt hit the chair. Several of the students gave him strange looks and a couple giggled. Peeta felt his face turn red as he more gently lowered himself into the chair.

"Well, now that we're all paying attention…clear your desks and take out a pencil. You have forty minutes to complete this examination," said Mr. Taygler.

Shit. After everything that had happened yesterday, Peeta hadn't really thought to study for the test at all. He flipped over the sheet of paper.

Question 1: Name and describe all the by-products of coal and what they are used for.

Peeta groaned internally. He was utterly and completely done for. He spent the next forty minutes attempting to remember everything he could about coal. Being a baker's son, though, he hadn't been brought up learning about coal from the beginning like the Seam kids. At the end of the test he turned in his paper knowing that he had failed. Great. And mom had even been nice this morning. Not likely to last now.

He went through the rest of the day with a feeling of dread cause he knew that his mother did not take kindly to bad grades.

As he was leaving school for the day Mr. Taygler stopped him. "Peeta, I need a parent to sign this." He handed him his test. A 36%. Damn it. "Did you even study?"

"I was…busy. Sorry, sir. It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't."

Peeta dragged his feet all the way home. He only looked up once to catch Katniss Everdeen walking hand in hand with her pretty little sister on their way home. He wouldn't miss those moments for the world.

He walked in the bakery to find five cakes and a bunch of icing waiting for him. He got to work immediately…trying as hard as he could to be a model son before he told his parents about the test. He lost himself in his work as he often did when he was doing anything involving icing, paint, or drawing. He had all the cakes done in an hour and he put them on the display table in the window of the bakery. Then he went up to his room to start homework.

He had only gotten one problem set done for his business class when his mother called him from downstairs. He thudded down them and found her in the kitchen. "Peeta, I have to go out for the night. Your aunt is sick and I need to be with her right now. You'll have to manage tonight without me."

It was a like a miracle. He didn't have to tell his mother about the test at all. He tried not to look too overly enthusiastic when he assured her that he would be fine without her. But just then the bell rang and he skipped off to help a customer.

Later that night, after dinner, Peeta decided it was time to tell his father about the test. He still needed a parent's signature, after all. He walked into the study where his father was reading.

"Dad?"

"Yes, Peeta?"

"I, um…need you to sign something."

"Are you going on a trip to the mines?"

"Not exactly…I sorta failed a test."

His dad looked at him with such a disappointed expression that Peeta couldn't look him in the eyes. He stared at his shoes instead.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"Bring it here."

Peeta shuffled over to his father and handed him the test. The baker sighed and shook his head. He scrawled a signature over the top. He handed him the test back. Peeta turned to leave and stopped. "Are you gonna tell Mom?"

Mr. Mellark surveyed his son for a while. "Do you think I should?"

Peeta shrugged and gave his father a pleading look.

Mr. Mellark stood up. "Here are your options, Peeta. Either I tell her and she can deal with you, or I'll deal with you myself."

Peeta considered. His father hadn't punished him since he was nine years old and had gotten into a fight with Charlie. He hated that he disappointed him and he really didn't want to be punished by him. But the other option was his mother…and he definitely did not want that.

"You," he muttered.

"Alright. Go upstairs. I'll be there in a minute."

Peeta turned and walked slowly up to his room. Charlie was sitting on his bed.

"What's the matter with you?"

Peeta glared at him and flopped onto his bed with a huge sigh. "I-failed-a-test-and-dad-is-gonna-beat-me," he grumbled.

"Woah…Dad?"

"Yes. Dad."

"Well….uh. I'm gonna get out of here. Good luck, Peeta." He scrambled off his bed and ran out the door. Peeta buried his face in his arms. A few moments later he heard a soft knock at the door. "Come in," he whispered. Mr. Mellark walked in the door and sat on Peeta's bed.

"You know I hate doing this."

"Then don't."

"Peeta," he said warningly. "This was your choice, remember."

"I know."

"Alright. Get over my lap."

Peeta groaned and dragged himself over his father's knees. God, this was embarrassing. And it was gonna hurt. Damn it. He squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself.

Mr. Mellark's heart softened at seeing his son in such a position. He really didn't want to do this. His hand rested on Peeta's backside. He put a hand on his son's lower back and rubbed his thumb soothingly along it. Then he raised his hand and struck. Peeta gasped and his shoulders tensed. Mr. Mellark repeated this twice more and suddenly stopped. Peeta looked over his shoulder at him.

"There. Don't do anything like this again." He gently pushed Peeta off his lap and stood up. Peeta gazed wonderingly at him. He turned to leave the room.

"Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks…"

Mr. Mellark smiled and left the room.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day at school Peeta handed his signed test to Mr. Taygler. He was rewarded with a condescending look and an "I hope this never happens again, young man."

"It won't, sir. I promise," muttered Peeta. He shuffled off to his seat and looked anywhere but at his teacher. The hour passed extremely slowly. Peeta spent it staring out the window and daydreaming about the girl with the braid. Where she was at that very moment, who she was with, what she was thinking about.

"PEETA MELLARK!"

Peeta jumped and blushed as he looked at his teacher. The entire class was staring at him and a few started giggling.

"Y-yes, sir?"

"I have asked you the same question four times."

"I'm sorry, sir. Could you repeat it one more time?"

Mr. Taygler heaved a sigh. "What was the name of the Capitol general who lead the Battle of District 10?"

Damnit. "Um…Playfeather?"

The class tittered again. Mr. Taygler silenced them all with a look. "See me after class, Mr. Mellark."

The bell rang a few moments later. Peeta gathered his books and made his way to the front of the classroom. Mr. Taygler took a seat behind his desk and looked Peeta full in the face. "Mr. Mellark, it appears you are not taking your studies seriously. You're a bright student, but your work ethic has been abysmal lately. I don't know what to do with you anymore."

"I'm sorry, sir. It's just…I've been really busy…you know, with the bakery and all."

"Well, I'm sure your parents must be concerned with your schoolwork and they understand that that should come first while you are still this young. I know you have two older brothers…can't they take care of your workload while you are doing your assignments?"

"There's a lot to be done, sir."

Mr. Taygler sighed. "Look, Peeta. The bottom line is this needs to change. I can't have you constantly drifting out of focus and neglecting to study. What did your father say when you had him sign that test?"

Peeta blushed a deep red. "He…wasn't happy with me, sir." He shifted his weight from foot to foot, nervously.

"Well, something obviously isn't working at home. Perhaps I need to have a conference with your parents myself and explain the seriousness of this situation."

"No! Sir, sir, I PROMISE to work harder. I swear. Please, please don't."

Mr. Taygler looked at the boy standing before him. "Peeta, I don't know what else to do."

"But…." Peeta looked around. "But she'll beat me."

Mr. Taygler's eyes widened the slightest bit. "Beat you? Peeta, does this happen often?"

"Yeah…no. I guess. Sort of."

"What does she hit you with, son?"

"Her hand…or a belt. A spoon sometimes."

Mr. Taygler relaxed a little. "Peeta, I know that can't be fun for you, but it isn't as if she's putting your life in danger in any way. Actually, I can see where you might benefit from it in the long run. You may not realize it now, but further down the road you may come to thank your mother for raising you with tough love."

Peeta stared in disbelief at his teacher. He couldn't believe he actually agreed with the way his mother treated him. He didn't know what he had expected, exactly, but definitely nothing like this. Tough love? There was NO love as far as his mother was concerned.

"I think I'm going to go ahead and schedule that conference now. Take this note back to your parents. I expect you all to show up here at six o'clock."

Peeta took the note with trembling hands and left the room. He was dreading this day more than anything. It was a second blow when he realized that Mr. Taygler had kept him so late that he missed seeing Katniss walking home. Damn. Worst day ever.

He dragged his feet all the way back to the bakery. When he reached the door he found his mom helping a customer. He thought it might be best to get this out of the way while there were witnesses there. He walked up to the counter and noticed that the customer was Haymitch Abernathy, the drunk, lone victor of District 12. He was staggering around the bakery picking up different types of bread and sniffing them. Mrs. Mellark was watching him with a look of utmost disgust. Peeta walked up to her.

"Mom?"

"What is it, Peeta?" she said sharply.

"I, um….I need you and dad to come down to the school with me tonight at six."

Mrs. Mellark pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow at her youngest son. "And why, praytell, do I have to do that?"

"Um…my schoolwork…hasn't been that good lately."

Mrs. Mellark turned and faced her son fully, placing her hands on her hips. She opened her mouth to speak but before she could Haymitch started cackling.

"In a bit of trouble, huh, Sonny? Hahaha….your mama doesn't look to happy with you, does she?" He laughed wildly and left the shop without buying anything.

"Peeta. Go upstairs to your room and wait there. I'm not dealing with you right now."

Peeta scampered off to his bedroom and shut the door. The minutes dragged by into hours. Before he knew it, it was 5:45. His mother shrieked up the stairs for him. He thumped down them and found his mother and father waiting for him, ready to go.

"Let's go, boy. Ungrateful, stupid creature. We had to close the shop a whole hour early because of this! Do you know what that costs us?" Peeta's mother scolded him all the way to the school building, accenting some of her greater points with a slap to the back of Peeta's head. The baker walked behind them silently. When they finally reached the school, Peeta led the way into his classroom. Mr. Taygler was there waiting for them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Mellark. Please take a seat."

The baker and his wife sat down. Peeta sat on the edge of a desk.

"Well, as you might have known based on Peeta's 36% on his last test…"

"His, WHAT?" shrieked Mrs. Mellark. She looked furiously at her son who tried his best to look ashamed and apologetic.

Mr. Taygler raised his eyebrow. "I take it you didn't know about that. Yes, well, Peeta's work had been suffering lately and he is falling behind in class. I felt that I should bring this to your attention so that you may keep a closer eye on what your son is doing and help him to achieve his full potential."

Peeta looked down. 'Achieve his full potential'. Oh, his mom would 'help him' do that, all right. He wouldn't be able to sit down for a month after tonight. He just knew it. He blocked out most of the conversation as he was wallowing in his upcoming punishment. Soon enough, though, it was time to leave. He followed his mother and father out of the classroom and started making his way back home. He could feel his mothers' eyes burning into him as he walked, but he couldn't bring himself to return the gaze. As they walked in the front door his mother said, "Peeta. Bedroom. Now." Peeta miserably made his way upstairs into his room. He told Charlie and Mason to get out. "Jeez, Peeta," said Charlie. "What the hell has gotten into you lately, man?" Peeta just gave him a look in response.

A few minutes later his mother appeared in his doorway. She had a heavy hairbrush in her hand. Peeta almost cried right then. That hairbrush hurt more than anything else his mother had ever used on him. Mrs. Mellark didn't even speak. She just pointed to the bed, instructing Peeta to lie over it. Shaking, Peeta obliged. His mother came beside him and took his pants down. Peeta buried his head in his arms.

SMACK. The hairbrush made a hard impact on his backside. Peeta whimpered and started to shake. The pain was so instantaneous, so intense, that he could barely stand it.

His mother began to accentuate each smack with a lecture.

"You" SMACK "stupid" SMACK "lazy" SMACK "poor" SMACK "excuse" SMACK "for" SMACK "a" SMACK "son" SMACK "how" SMACK "could" SMACK "you" SMACK "embarrass" SMACK "me" SMACK "like" SMACK "this" SMACK "if" SMACK "I" SMACK "ever" SMACK "have" SMACK "to" SMACK "go" SMACK "down" SMACK "to" SMACK "the" SMACK "school" SMACK "again" SMACK "I" SMACK "will" SMACK "tan" SMACK "your" SMACK "hide" SMACK "so" SMACK "good" SMACK "you" SMACK "won't" SMACK "ever" SMACK "be" SMACK "able" SMACK "to" SMACK "sit" SMACK "again" SMACK SMACK.

Peeta was sobbing on the bed. He begged his mother to stop but she kept going with a fierce determination. He finally gave up and just went limp, shaking, over the bed.

Mrs. Mellark finally stopped. She grabbed her son by the scruff of his neck and made him look at her. "I certainly hope you've learned your lesson." Peeta nodded mutely, tears falling from his eyes. She turned him back around and gave him ten more whacks with the brush that caused Peeta to moan in agony. Then she left the room with a final "STUDY."

Peeta lay on his bed for ten minutes, crying. He was in so much pain. As soon as he could he sat up, hissing and jumping when his butt hit the bed. He gingerly stood up and went to get his schoolbooks. He was going to try his hardest not to be in THAT position again anytime soon.


	5. Chapter 5

Peeta couldn't look at his mother the next day. He spent the duration of the morning avoiding her at all costs. To the credit of his brothers, neither of them mentioned the previous night. All members of the Mellark family were busy in their work. It was Saturday which meant that the bakery would be fairly busy all afternoon, so there was plenty to be done. Peeta generally enjoyed Saturdays. No school and the bakery had a warm, homey feel. The family moved about each other in an almost choreographed fashion, carrying mixing bowls, kneading dough, and putting rolls in the oven.

This morning, however, Peeta was brooding in his own personal thoughts. He was on icing duty yet again, so he stayed out of the way at the kitchen table. He stood because there was no way in hell he was going to sit for an extended period of time. He'd been here for about two hours and had put a variety of decorations on cakes and cookies. He was now deciding which ones were the best so they could go on display in the window.

"The daffodil ones."

Peeta whipped his head around and saw his mother standing right behind him. He gave her a tentative smile and put the eight daffodil cookies on a crystal plate and moved them to the display window. He angled them so they hit the light correctly and then went back to where his mother was still standing. She was observing his work at the table.

"They're good, Peeta. Very nice. You have…a gift for this."

"Th-thanks, mom."

Mrs. Mellark walked up and put her arms around her son. She pulled him into a tight embrace. Peeta wrapped him arms around her gently. He couldn't even remember the last time his mother had hugged him. It felt nice. All too quickly, she broke away. She gently brushed his cheekbone, where the faintest of lines still remained from that rainy day five years ago when she had hit him for burning bread.

"You're a good boy."

She turned and walked away. Peeta felt elated. This small exchange was about the closest she had ever gotten to saying she loved him. Peeta turned back to his work and painted the remaining sugar cookies with pink and red hearts, a smile on his face.


End file.
